Letters: The Mideast tapestry of Muslim rage

Huda Herwees, 16, left, of Cerritos and Maysoon Ben-Ghaly of Irvine, attend a vigil at the corner of Barranca Parkyway and Jamboree Road near The District in response to the tragic killings of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and other personnel in Libya this week. Herwees holds a Libyan flag she brought back this summer after visiting relatives in Benghazi. (LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA, Jay Peterson: To answer the question, “Why the Muslim Rage?” [Focus, Sept. 15], one must go back to the early days of Islam, when the prophet began to spread the new faith by military conquest.

Many rioters and protesters throughout the Islamic world would likely know that there were once rich and powerful Islamic empires that made their infidel neighbors tremble with fear: the Caliphate, the original Islamic empire; Islamic Persia; the Ottoman Empire; the Golden Horde; the Mughal Empire.

Today, those empires and their glory days are relics of the past. While the power of Islamic lands declined, that Europe and America grew. Muslim rage is likely from those who view themselves and Islam as having been denied a “rightful” position of world supremacy. They are enraged by perceived insults from those whom they view as their inferiors, worthy only of being their subjects or their slaves.

From the viewpoint of many Muslims, it must seem that Allah smiles upon infidels rather than upon true believers. Why? To extremist fundamentalists, the answer is that this is their punishment for not making war on nonbelievers. If Islam's glory days came from attacking and conquering infidels, then the way to begin a new “golden age” for Muslims is to again make war upon the world and spread the faith by force, thereby regaining the favor of Allah.

Those motivated by such a belief will be implacable enemies of all non-Islamic peoples and governments. No soothing words or acts of friendship will diminish hostility; they will be satisfied with nothing less than infidel submission to Islamic rule.

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IRVINE, Don Hilgendorf: The administration, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, totally bungled the security situation in Benghazi, Libya, that led to the deaths of four Americans. Since April there were at least five violent events in Benghazi that should have been cause for alarm. Our consulate should have been beefed up with heavy U.S. Marine security or closed. It is shameful our ambassador and others were placed in a dangerous situation where a well-coordinated terrorist attack occurred.

Mr. President, please tone down your rhetoric on Osama bin Laden's death. This especially applies to Vice President Joe Biden, whose mantra, “Osama bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive,” only helps stir Mideast trouble. Does the Mideast chant, “Obama, Obama, Obama, we are all Osama” not have a dangerous ring to it?

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CHINO HILLS, Ralph Kenealy: Afghanistan, like many other Mideast countries, is ruled by theocratic governments, yet the U.S. supports these governments with billions of American taxpayer dollars. Whatever happened to separation of church and state? If it is acceptable to finance a foreign theocracy, then why not send money to the Vatican (a foreign theocratic government) or even to local Christian churches?

As for Islamic-Muslim theocracies, the U.S. finances its own demise. Islamic fanatics kill Christians merely for nonconforming religious beliefs. We're all familiar with their daily mantra “Death to America.”

America's foreign policy could not be more misguided, self-destructive and discriminatory when applying separation of church and state to its own citizens, especially with regard to the billions of dollars we give to these theocracies.

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SAN CLEMENTE, Earle McNeil: Why must we give billions of dollars to all of these countries in order for them to hate us, when they will hate us for free?

The Fed in bondage

IRVINE, James H. Walker: So now we are going to try fix the economy by “buying bonds” with money we do not have and which must be “borrowed” or “printed” [“Announcement by Fed starts market on rally,” Business, Sept. 14].

Creating money out of thin air does only one thing: it reduces the value of the money that already exists. How this “fixes the economy” is beyond comprehension to this old man, who studied “industrial economics” at a cow college in Iowa. It's been tried over the years. All it has accomplished is a reduction in the dollar's value time and again.

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Huda Herwees, 16, left, of Cerritos and Maysoon Ben-Ghaly of Irvine, attend a vigil at the corner of Barranca Parkyway and Jamboree Road near The District in response to the tragic killings of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and other personnel in Libya this week. Herwees holds a Libyan flag she brought back this summer after visiting relatives in Benghazi. (LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
About 60 Muslims and others held a vigil at The District in in response to the killings of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and other personnel in Libya this week. "Violence is escalating. Religious extremism is escalating as well. That not good for the U.S. That's not good for me. That's not good for anyone else," said Vicki Tamoush, a Tustin resident and founder of Interfaith Witnesses, a group that stands in silent support of those who are being harassed because of their faith. (LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A Muslim man throws rock at police during a protest against an anti-Islam film outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Indonesians enraged over the film hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at the embassy on Monday, marking the first violence in the world's most populous Muslim country since outrage exploded last week in the Middle East and beyond. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
A Muslim youth pauses near a poster during a protest against an anti-Islam film in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Indonesians enraged over an anti-Islam film hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on Monday, marking the first violence in the world's most populous Muslim country since outrage exploded last week in the Middle East and beyond. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
Indonesian Muslims hold poster during a protest against an anti-Islam film in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Indonesians enraged over the film hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on Monday, marking the first violence in the world's most populous Muslim country since outrage exploded last week in the Middle East and beyond. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaks during the Transfer of Remains Ceremony, Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., marking the return to the United States of the remains of the four Americans killed this week in Benghazi, Libya. Obama said in a Rose Garden statement after the attack that those responsible would be brought to justice. That may not be swift. Building a clearer picture of what happened will take more time, and possibly more people, U.S. officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
Libyan followers of the Ansar al-Shariah Brigades chant anti-U.S. slogans during a protest in front of the Tibesti Hotel, in Benghazi, Libya, Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad. One of the leading suspects in an attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans is the Libyan-based Islamic militant group Ansar al-Shariah, led by former Guantanamo detainee Sufyan bin Qumu. The group denied responsibility in a video Friday but did acknowledge its fighters were in the area during what it called a “popular protest” at the consulate, according to Ben Venzke of the IntelCenter, a private analysis firm that monitors Jihadist media for the U.S. intelligence community. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
In this photo provided by the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI waves to youth in Bkerke, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI has appealed for religious freedom in the Middle East, calling it fundamental for stability in a region bloodied by sectarian strife. Benedict arrived in Lebanon Friday amid a wave of violent protests across the Middle East over an anti-Islam film. (AP Photo, L'Osservatore Romano) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
A giant rosary made of balloons floats in the sky as faithful wait for Pope Benedict XVI in Bkirki, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI told Syrians at a rally for young people Saturday that he admired their courage and that he does not forget those in the Middle East who are suffering. On a day of appeals for religious freedom in the region, he said it was time for Muslims and Christians to work together against violence and war. He spoke on the second day of his visit to Lebanon, a country with the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East. He arrived amid a wave of violent demonstrations over an anti-Islam film across the Muslim world. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
Pope Benedict XVI arrives in his popemobile to hold mass on the waterfront in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday Sept. 16, 2012. The Pope celebrated an open-air mass for tens of thousands of pilgrims from across the Middle East, saying Christians must do their part to end the "grim trail of death and destruction" in the region. "I appeal to you all to be peacemakers," Benedict said. (AP Photo) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
A Libyan investigator hands over equipment to his colleague as he leaves the U.S. Consulate, after finishing their investigation regarding the attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens on the night of Tuesday, in Benghazi, Libya, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. The American ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed when a mob of protesters and gunmen overwhelmed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, setting fire to it in outrage over a film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Ambassador Chris Stevens, 52, died as he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as a crowd of hundreds attacked the consulate Tuesday evening, many of them firing machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades. (AP photo/Mohammad Hannon) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
Libyan investigators cars are parked in front of the U.S. Consulate during their investigation regarding the attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens on the night of Tuesday, in Benghazi, Libya, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. The American ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed when a mob of protesters and gunmen overwhelmed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, setting fire to it in outrage over a film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Ambassador Chris Stevens, 52, died as he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as a crowd of hundreds attacked the consulate Tuesday evening, many of them firing machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades. (AP photo/Mohammad Hannon) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
Libyan guards block the gate of the U.S Consulate, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012, while Libyan investigators work inside on their investigation regarding the attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens on the night of Tuesday. The American ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed when a mob of protesters and gunmen overwhelmed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, setting fire to it in outrage over a film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Ambassador Chris Stevens, 52, died as he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as a crowd of hundreds attacked the consulate Tuesday evening, many of them firing machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades. (AP photo/Mohammad Hannon) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
Libyans and Americans stand with wreaths, a poster and a photo of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens on it as they gather in front of the U.S. consulate gate to pay their respect to the victims of the Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate, in Benghazi, Libya, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack, part of a wave of assaults on U.S. diplomatic missions in Muslim countries over a low-budget movie made in the United States that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad. Arabic reads, "no room for extremism among us." (AP photo/Mohammad Hannon) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
Libyans hold placards as they march to express their sympathy for the U.S. ambassador, Chris Stevens and other Americans killed in the Tuesday, Sept. 11 deadly attack on the Consulate, in Benghazi, Libya, Friday, Sept. 14, 2012. Stevens and three other Americans were killed when a mob of protesters and gunmen overwhelmed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, setting fire to it. Stevens, 52, died as he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as a crowd of hundreds attacked the consulate Tuesday evening, many of them firing machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades. (AP Photo /Mohammad Hannon) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
A group of about 50 angry Islamists shout anti-U.S. slogans, protesting against a film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad, outside the U.S. embassy in Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. Police kept the group some 100 meters away from the building. The protesters burned a mock U.S. flag as one protester read out a statement denouncing the U.S., praising protests that erupted in Libya, Cairo and Tunisia and calling on Turks to also rise up against “insults” to the Prophet.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP
Egyptian protesters gather around a burning vehicle in downtown Cairo, Egypt, early Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012, before police cleared the area after days of protests against a film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad. Egyptian police on Saturday cleared out protesters who have been clashing with security forces for the past four days near the U.S. Embassy as most cities around the Muslim world reported calm a day after at least six people were killed in a wave of angry protests over an anti-Islam film. (AP Photo) PHOTO GALLERY BY BETTY TALBERT & KYLE INFANTE, AP

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